A 75-Year Old Brand With Unique History...But Are Their Watches Any Good?

Are Accurist watches any good? In this Accurist 7216 review video, we take a look at the interesting history of this brand, which has ties to Greenwich Mean Time, as well as the iconic talking clock and Millenium clock in the UK.
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Ben's Watch Club tends to cover affordable watches like Seiko, Timex, Casio, Citizen, MVMT, Vincero, Bulova, Orient, Hamilton, and more. We rarely feature luxury watches like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Tag Heuer, Tudor, Grand Seiko, Cartier, Omega, Audemars Piguet, or Hublot due to their price.

[@BensWatchClub]

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[@erico9447]

Awesome video Ben. How can I get an Accurist shipped to the US?

[@philspencelayh5464]

@@erico9447 try ebay, thats where I got my vintage one

[@Hrethgir]

So Accurist is basically what Vincero and MVMT claim to be, but aren't. Pretty nice looking watch, especially for the money.

[@shadowman5618]

It couldn't be explained better, indeed these watches seem the best when it comes to "affordable luxury". Unlike others like MVMT etc.

[@justinweisberg1634]

@@shadowman5618 they also don’t pay people to say their better than Rolex

[@shadowman5618]

@@justinweisberg1634 😂

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Accurist used to produce 9ct Gold hand winders

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Built to last fashion watches

[@christianaviles2199]

I feel like this is Timex's unrecognized British child they left behind after coming home from the war.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I agree Times was made in the UK as well

[@MeetTheSLAYER]

lol

[@StephenMorganCanada]

As a kid traveling back and forth from Canada to the UK, O always thought they were Timex with a different name in the UK. Foolish child, I may have been but the positioning wasn’t far off.

[@patrickriarchy6054]

I like alot of their styles and the prices are fair. They're not only a good value proposition but also an affordable watchmaker with an actual respectable history.

[@garylawton230]

What bugs me the most about quartz watches is when the second hand doesn’t match up with the indices! 😱

[@create133]

Yeah, especially on more expensive timepieces.

[@NathanChisholm041]

Citizens do!!

[@MJFallout]

Doesn't bug me as much as a needlessly springy second hand that only settles into position after a lot of back-forth-again bouncing. And - as one does - once you see it it's impossible to unsee.

[@mr22guy]

@@christopherjackson3455 Yeah - my F91W doesn't have this problem :P

[@mr22guy]

Well all you need to do is open it, pop off the seconds hand, and put it back on aligned. But it might take you a few dozen tries.

[@WesWatchRoom]

I'd definitely rather rock one of these than any daniel wellington or mvmt. It looks pretty good value to be fair and glad it's a seiko movement and not a cheapo Chinese one. Pretty good value imo. Great work as always.

[@kleanovodust-bin69]

Pretty good value and also you get a pretty, well-designed watch. Not like DW or MVMT.

[@tikkathreebarrels]

And that's probably the best watch review I'll have seen in any three months. Honest, clear, informative and, dare I suggest, pretty accurist?

[@CCUStories]

…

[@grahamwallace]

I remember that back in the day (1970’s) Accurist were one of the more highly regarded brands in the UK, probably more down to the clever marketing that the quality of the product. I still remember a catch phrase from their ads, ‘Accuwrist, Accurankle!’ although I have no clue why someone would want to wear a watch on their ankle? 🤣 Nice review Ben, thanks.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Were they mechanical

[@grahamwallace]

@@oscarosullivan4513 I think there was a lot of quartz analogue in their range but they also sold quartz digital, which at the time were the big new thing and more expensive.

[@grahamwallace]

@@paul-ms3fi ouch! 😂😂

[@mike-yn3mn]

@@oscarosullivan4513 I've got my dad's old Accurist from 1975 it has a Swiss 17 jewel automatic movement in it. I think like many watch brands Accurist took a bit of a kicking during the quartz crisis.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

@@mike-yn3mn Likely stopped making mechanical in the 80’s

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

I well remember the John Cleese adverts. God I feel old.

[@markgrieves1307]

Accurankle...... Me too pal. Bloody ancient we are. Ronnie Barker too in Sekonda ads? 👍

[@anthonystevens8683]

It's been a while since I had an Accurist on my wrist and to be honest I'd almost forgotten about the brand. The ones I have should still work once they have been fed new batteries and have some fresh volts to guzzle. From the ones I owned I don't think I had a complaint against any of them. Accurate, reliable and did a great time telling the err... time. I'm pleased that they still produce good value watches regardless of the place of manufacture and the QC looks OK too. A great review Ben.

[@zac7530]

That calling for the time!! My grandpa did that every morning after winding his watch up it's just a nice memory I have of him

[@-10]

Wow the differences in quality with fashion trash over two times the price is quite stunning. Very impressive piece.

[@onemat2000]

Nice watch...I enjoyed the Accurist marketing history in the beginning of the video. Here in the states, we had a number you could dial to get a time message. I don't recall any sponsorship for it. I guess Timex missed the boat.

[@susrev88]

i think timex missed a lot of boats. they're still a brand i don't understand

[@oscarosullivan4513]

You can still use that number

[@PlugInRides]

The problem with all Seiko VD5x movement chronographs, is that the stopwatch functions are restricted to the sub-dials, and the central hand is merely a sweep seconds indicator. This makes the tachymeter ring much less useful, bordering on worthless. For a $20 or $30 chronograph this may be acceptable, but the price point of this Accurist means that there are a number of Chinese made, Seiko Meca-Quartz (VK6x) powered chronographs nipping at its heals.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I agree

[@MeTaLISaWeSoMe95]

Get their retro racer. It fixes that exact issue.

[@05Rudey]

Before I got into watches, say 12-13 (Back in the late 80's), if someone asked me what watch brands are the best... I'd probably say Rolex & Accurist, precisely for the reasons given, lots of TV adverts making it look like a premium watch brand (Staring one of my favorite actors: John Cleese) and made famous, at least in the UK for it's association for the speaking clock and the Millennium Countdown clock. I had a few Accurist hand me down watches from various family members and despite it being no more expensive than other budget watches at the time, felt more upperclass, more valuable and Horologicaly important. It was only when I got to my late teens and twenties, I guess the stage of life where I bought my own watches (Mostly Casio G-Shocks) that I realised that the brand wasn't really all that and I started to get the idea of hierarchy of watch brands, with Rolex, Omega, Patek, IWC up at the top and way down the pecking order, you will find Accurist.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

That has changed though

[@Santor-]

@@oscarosullivan4513 yes, Accurist has recently bypassed Rolex for sure. Nothing like an accurist to impress the ladies and get some meat on the hook.

[@bumblebaetuna2801]

If you can get hold of them their “All Terrain” series from the late nineties/early noughties are excellent all round watches - have a couple which are still in rotation👍

[@stevegasparutti8341]

I managed to pick up a lovely Accurist 1940s Millitary watch on ebay for £10. It works brilliantly. It has some reall heritage. Certainly better than a Vincero.

[@manoflego123]

Honestly I'm pretty impressed with what you get for the money. That bracelet alone looks pretty great. I'm not really looking to get an analog quartz chronograph currently, but if I was this would be high on my list. Thanks for making me more aware of this brand!

[@xamineh]

I have bought the same exact watch and here are my points: 1 - Bracelet is indeed solid and quite good for the money; 2 - Case finishing is adequate and not ugly at all; 3 - Dial looks severely different in person compared to what we see online. I prefer what I saw online but that doesn't mean the watch is ugly; 4 - The seconds pointer of my watch hits almost all marks precisely, yayyy! 5 - Chronograph is useless; 6 - The buttons are very pronounced and thin, looking fragile; 7 - Overall a nice watch. I paid 90 euros for it.

[@brandontran4180]

Never heard of this brand but I'm glad to see that Accurist is honest and fair with their watches. A good starting point for new watch collectors! I hope more fashion watch customers support them instead of the usual suspects (i.e. MVMT, Vincero, DW and Filipo Loretti)

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I agree all you need is for a movement that lets you use the tachymetre

[@MattGDesign]

@@oscarosullivan4513 What do you mean? Any chrono can have a tachymetre

[@neiljones2264]

Nice review Ben, any chance you could review another brand with British heritage, that being Rotary. Not much to be found on YT. Keep up good work, enjoy your honest reviews.

[@markgrieves1307]

Rotary needs more love. I've got about three. Sekonda could do with some love also. They seem to have upped their quality. 👍

[@ulmen24]

This is the type of chrono I prefer, with the large second hand continuously ticking/sweeping. I look at the second hand frequently but hardly ever even use a chronograph function.

[@Stanjara]

Dude, he turned on the chrono for the video. There is a main small seconds hand on the dial. EDIT: I was wrong, You were right.

[@stupewpew8295]

I recently got an Accurist watch 7328 (green face) diver (200m) screw down crown, great lume from H Samual, absolute bargain on sale £47.00! Feels and looks so much more. Amazing for the price.

[@dominicrusho]

Came here from your Tayrok video - this is a good looking watch that takes more than a pinch of inspiration from some older Heuer Carreras. Nice 👍

[@EEE_MMM]

The Netherlands also had this call-in service for the exact time, though in my memory it was discontinued in the late eighties or maybe early nineties. I don't remember it being sponsored though, the fact that in the UK a watch brand managed to attach its name to accurate time is no doubt a master marketing move!

[@lundsweden]

I remember setting clocks and watches by ringing the talking clock in Sydney, Australia in the 1980s. This was common enough back then. The other (free) method I used, was setting time by the 6 O'Clock TV news, which usually started at exactly 6 O'Clock.

[@godofthewired]

I got the Accurist 7066 a few years back and the build and band quality stood out to me, especially compared to others in this price range. The presentation box is also quite nice and leaves the impression of a more expensive product. I also noticed recently that they have titanium watches in the 60-70 quid range, which is tempting.

[@josemavalmateu791]

Probably far better review than this watch ever expected, but indeed an excellent fairly priced offer. Well done, both.

[@SteveFWatches]

I wish it was available in the US in other color ways. I think of it was around $70 USD it would be a forum favorite and highly recommend.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

And a mecca quartz movement

[@pclayto3]

My 'first' watch was an Accurist Chronograph that I purchased in the year 2000 for £99. It's still ticking today, but has now become my beater

[@ianoptics72]

Greetings from South Korea. Having really enjoyed your channel so far, Thanks.

[@rjpm92]

Ah no! Haven't watched it yet but I wish you'd done the 7172 or 7173 as a review of an Accurist watch! Domed mineral crystal and a 38mm titanium case and bracelet. Their titanium watches are great value. Edit: Awesome Review! Looks better in the flesh then in the pictures

[@BensWatchClub]

From what I remember they have discontinued that model unfortunately. Perhaps they'll revive it under a different codename at some point. Also, this chrono sure does look better than the pictures, surprisingly so!

[@rjpm92]

@@BensWatchClub Ah that's a shame, just checked and it indeed looks like they've discontinued all their titanium models. I'd pick up their square retro chronograph if it was a little smaller, turns out we have the same wrist size!

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Accurist and Sekonda two fashion watch brands that actually last. Sekonda started off importing Russian watches

[@Jamie-2004]

Oh my goodness... Literally was in H Samuel yesterday (16th August) and was with my mum and noticed this brand and wasn’t too sure what to think about it... Talk about timing...

[@andrebalsa203]

In my humble opinion, a well-finished watch at an excellent price. I wouldn't mind owning a few of these, but incredibly enough, living in France, I had never heard of the Accurist brand before this video. So: thanks for yet another excellent video and the opportunity to discover this brand.

[@benironside1264]

I have a couple, one my mum got me for my 16th and another I got for my 18th. We were poor so had to go for something more affordable. I’m almost 40 now and still have both that sit in my collection for sentimental value more than anything. nice to know they have some heritage despite being budget friendly

[@alexandergk9947]

Why am i so addicted to watch bens watch Clubs videos

[@kleanovodust-bin69]

Same here 🙋‍♂️

[@rbemuscle6058]

Great review man! I just bought an Accurist 7272 200m quartz watch for an amazing £39.99 as its now discontinued. Sapphire crystal with AR coating, screw down crown, hacking movement, 200m water resistant, solid end links. Amazing value! Has a passing resemblence to the Tudor Pelagos in blue. Def worth checking out Accurist. I always thought they made cheap tacky watches, how wrong I was ! BTW, I have other more expensive watches to compare it against, Hamilton, Certina, TAG Heuer, Seiko etc. Yes the second hand dosent always hit the markers, but for under £40 I couldnt care less.. My mates £1,400 TAG Heuer dosent hit all the markers either 😂

[@AymanTravelTransport]

I came to know of the brand when I was gifted an Accurist watch by my wife's relatives when we got engaged; it's black gunmetal chrono variant, which looks rather sleek, and the accuracy is superb with the way the hands hit the markers! Glad to know it's actually a solid brand, as it's definitely a brilliant watch to mark this big milestone in my life!

[@24934637]

I was given an Accurist 'Reverse-Panda' Quartz Chronograph for my 15th Birthday 31 years ago. It's been used hard especially when I worked as a rock climbing instructor, getting scraped on rock, and drenched with wild white water on a daily basis. It's never let me down. The modern Accurist equivalent generally sells for about £130, so it's done REALLY well!

[@TimeForAnotherWatch]

Good looking watch with decent finishing and movement for a reasonable price ... Great package for a budget watch.

[@branflakee4257]

2:05 theres a great movie called "Longitude" made in 2000 if you want more history on horology or if you just want to watch something different.

[@nobbynoris]

No Accurists in it though.

[@branflakee4257]

@@nobbynoris no, but the movie tells you who and why the contraption shown at 2:05 (the left side of the screen) was made for and its significance in maritime navigation and the GMT.

[@Steve-K.G.]

Although I have a few luxury watches, one of which I'm selling due to an offer I can't realistcally refuse, I do love an Accurist and have a few. Same goes for Sekonda, Rotary and similarly priced watches. It's nice to have a real think about which one to wear sometimes :-) Great review, cheers.

[@sheldonconnor8702]

Just subbed. Great high quality, unbiased and funny content. Great taste and with tons of variety! Great work. You really care about your channel.

[@M6GOF]

Did have an Accurist alarm chronograph that featured a Citizen Skyhawk mechanism inside it (pre 'atomic clock' version) that worked impeccably well that I used as a work daily for many years, until I absent mindedly left it in a sock drawer with a dead battery, and upgraded to a Citizen Eco Drive chronograph (that actually packed up and wouldn't charge, that I sold as spares/repairs on eBay). Kinda wished I hadn't have bothered buying that Citizen Eco Drive to be honest. So yeah, people forget about Accurist and nobody speaks about them which is a shame.

[@Jamie-2004]

Ben, could you look at secondary watches as they aren’t terribly expensive and seem like reasonable quality for price and offer decent value...

[@parksidemotors3627]

I have a couple accurist watches from the 90s. Small, thin gold plated quartz ones and I absolutely love them. In my weekly rotation

[@BaddaBigBoom]

I just bought on Amazon uk a (brand new) women's Accurist watch for a good friend of mine that has the following specs: Mother of pearl pale blue dial, lumed hands, stainless steel case, solid stainless steel bracelet, GL10 Miyota quartz movement, 100m W/R, sapphire crystal, milled clasp for FIFTY FEKKIN QUID!!

[@alisonleaman333]

My Accurist 7227 (the one that looks like an IWC Portuguese) is excellent. Most accurate watch I've ever had, and very good value. Just a pity that the underside of the strap has split. Not long now until it breaks completely :(

[@raymondcragg7282]

I really need to buy an Accurist watch because it was the watch that got me into watches and they are good looking watches.

[@danijelvrhovec]

Thank you once again for the great review, Ben. But. What is up with the white/blurred frames? Seen it before in your reviews, it kind of throws me off...

[@grahamking9705]

How about a review of Sekonda watches?

[@MattGDesign]

Was pretty happy I managed to pick one of these up from TK Maxx for £35, bracelet isn't great but it's a solid watch!

[@BaddaBigBoom]

..I also have an Accurist from the late 40s that I bought on ebay recently, it's as accurate as can be expected and is in good working order ...though it is worryingly, a bit radioactive. Thumbs up.

[@vincentbone825]

I still have 4 Accurist watches in my collection purchased since 1990 and all are still working with zero problems. A great affordable selection of watches from a good British company which seems sadly overlooked today.

[@antman674]

In the U.S. we have the same telephone time service. If you dial "POPCORN" on a land line, a prerecorded voice tells you the time.

[@MK-zk4fk]

Nyolc éve van egy Accurist órám. /7022/ Olyan órát kerestem amin működő chronograf van. Magyarországon csak drága órákon van ilyen, de rátaláltam az Accurist órára interneten és szeretem. Az üveg kicsit karcolódott, de jól működik. Üdvözlet Magyarországról ! / A telefonos idő itt is népszerű volt . :)

[@terrysky83]

The watch actually looks rather handsome. Well done Accurist 👏

[@kimsinghrai]

In my opinion this is a ideal sized watch

[@blubbloob3164]

This watch gives me 'Zenith El Primero A384 Revival Chronomaster' vibes, I'm very much a fan of the look of it.

[@somewhereintimewatchreviews]

I have to admit to having a bit of a soft spot for Accurist I've reviewed a few & on the whole they're pretty darn good for the £

[@kevinhawthorne5257]

Thank You for all of your videos that you did. I am enjoying all of them

[@charlesmostert]

Another great review Accurist just made it onto my list!

[@polo86c4]

5:32 That's the Cicada 3301 Song by Lemmino! Great music choice and great watch!

[@clm.menezes]

Hey Ben, I have this exactly watch, but made by Orient Brazil. Here, it is the Orient Neo, reference mbssc187. In our local currency it costs around 131 to 139 US dollars. Great Review. Best regards.

[@Tobi_Jones]

nice find, it is actually really nice, love the bracelet

[@devongallant6023]

One of your best videos yet. Good job.

[@BensWatchClub]

Appreciate that

[@nodirvohidov374]

Amazing watch... I discover the Accurrist on 2014. I have bought more than 10 pcs.

[@peterkull8354]

This J Cleese advert is........................soooooooooooo great ! Didn´t know that. I was an M.P. fan for most of my life😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Lup0Solitario]

02:41 no alignment between second hand and the marker, great strategy for Accurist!!!

[@frankgerace5997]

Enjoyed the commercial with John Cleese. Looks like it’s from about the time he was in “Clockwise.” Maybe, like his movie character, he really IS obsessed with time!!😎😎

[@corneliusscipio777]

I live in Germany, and overall here we have the British shop "TK Maxx". They have watches which varies shop by shop, from brands Swiss Made like Rado, Mido, Tissot, Wenger, Adriatica, Victorinox or Roamer to fashion and useless watches like Diesel or American Exchange or Izod. Between them, it's possible to find Accurist. I found a diver, model 7272 (gun metal steel), sapphire crystal, 200 m, ceramic dark blue bezel and blue dial with Miyota 2117 Quartz caliber and screw-in crown for 30 EUROS. I am really happy with it, a bargain for the price

[@prettysoIdier]

Nice review. Good alternative to Vincero or Filipo Loretti. I’ve been looking for “budget micro brands” lol

[@notyourgrandadswatch7705]

When I was a kid here in the US we had a service just like this but regrettably less sophisticated sounding. The Midwest isn't exactly known for its fancy accents unless we were talking Fargo

[@mike-yn3mn]

I've still got an old Accurist that used to belong to my dad and its got a Swiss automatic movement and it's engraved on the back. A gift from his parents in 1975. I think older ones are better quality they seem to do quartz fashion pieces these days.

[@BobMuir100]

Great review Ben, made me go and see if I still had any Accurists left in my collection and yes I did! Hooray many school boy memories bought back to bore as many folks as I can, I am 62 so it's allowed. Thanks Bob England

[@BobMarley-pm1xb]

Great review as usual Ben!

[@neilpiper9889]

Cushion case. Very retro. Lovely watch.

[@rolandoavendano9224]

Thanks to your review I learned something new. Which are your budget English watch brands? Regards

[@alanwright3172]

Good watch, but has my pet hate, the whole point of a tachymeter bezel is that the center secondhand is used to calculate speed. impossible with a sub dial second hand🤬

[@JosephAdcock.]

This is so weird, I literally just ordered my first accurist yesterday

[@jgsheehan8810]

I’d never heard of accurist. Nice to know..

[@pepintubed]

Nice research Ben's Watch Club... A brand i've never heard off and John Cleese doiing advertention. Enjoyed the video very much :-)

[@irishhawk1]

Request: Can you do a piece on Oakley watches?

[@jacc88888]

I really like the rather coarse brushing. Somehow it works. Also I like the case shape and bracelet. Nothing displeasing about this one and seems like a good purchase.

[@scroojmusictutorials4054]

Never really thought much of accurist. I was aware of the brand but just sort of thought they were some average fashion brand that wasn’t all that but also not worthy of highlighting as a complete scam. But icl I would definitely wear that, and for £60. Very insightful video as always 👍

[@stevefox8605]

Good looking watch, excellent price, British company. Good review, Cheers 👍🏻👍🏻

[@Caleidoscope]

But did they cut out the middle man?

[@macraghnaill3553]

I have had 3 Accurist watches since the mid 80s one I bought off ebay used as I just wanted a cheap one for work, it lasted nearly 10 yrs, also bought one new off ebay for £10 [they were given away free with insurance quotes] lasted over 10 years and one I bought new and paid full price in 1986 [£30] that stopped working after being stored for a couple of years, all kept accurate time and lifespan is 10 years or more and were well made My present watch is a Citizen eco drive that was £99, 13 years ago also keeps good time

[@og2700]

Accurist diver model 7271 is a great value for money

[@starfthegreat]

Will you review watches from the lower-end luxury market (like Frédérique Constant or Tissot) or is that outside the scope of the channel?

[@coldude2559]

Nice looking watch and the price...even better👍👍👍

[@dietznutz1]

It's an incredibly attractive watch if they had it at the £300 mark with a st13 in it and better dial and case finishing that would be amazing

[@Arthurzeiro]

Funny, I just bid on an Accurist Skymaster on Ebay, what a coincidence.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Is it a pilots watch

[@Jorj57]

surprisingly a pleasing looking watch, bloody hell that looks good 😳

[@nickjacobs1770]

I've had an accurist watch for 10+ years & it still works well.

[@markzgmr]

It` s a pity that the second hand continuously misses the marker. Otherwise, really nice watch.

[@TheGoodfella2012]

Just bought the Accurist Solar :)

[@lalithap.lalitha9625]

My father have an accurist 15 years still keeping great time

[@RussellDharmaratne]

What’s your take on San Martin watches from AliExpress? They seems to be doing the whole crowdfunded luxury watches thing without any crowd funding. Please try to do a video on this.

[@richard-rs8dw]

Another excellent video, thanks!